Kathy's Adventures Beyond Singapore : Oscar Wilde, Shakespeare, & Lau Pa Sat

One of our favorite plays, The Importance of Being Earnest, was advertised on the sides of taxis for several weeks - the masculine-looking faces wearing pink gave us a clue that it wasn't going to be a "regular" casting of the play. ... We arrived at the National Library Building to find a gorgeous theater, a sold-out crowd, a wonderful string quartet playing period music, and ushers serving cucumber sandwiches as we took our seats. (If you know the play, you understand the significance of those tidbits!)

The only photo we could take was this one, because of course we couldn't take them during the show....but EVERYTHING was in Black & White, the actors (all men) wore various combinations of black and white tuxedos (with the exception of Lady Bracknell, who wore a striking red floor length morning coat). It was a gender-bending performance, with none of the actors speaking in falsetto or wearing wigs...the only thing "female" in the roles were their names and the exaggerated expressions when showing emotion. A totally entertaining - and unexpected - performance!

A week later we attended Singapore Repertory Theatre's "Othello" at Fort Canning Park.

Again no photos of the play, but I got shots of the audience as we waited for the show:

This performance was exceptionally good also. The special thing about this was the cast - totally international; the poster was a little deceiving...Desdemona was played by a native Singaporean, not a blue-eyed blond (!) After the show, the crowd headed out of the park and we were struck by another cool thing in this modern city...an outdoor escalator!

I have blogged about the outdoor food courts before, but this one deserves a special nod. Downtown near Marina Bay and nestled among the high rise financial buildings is the historic Lau Pa Sat. It was a Victorian market, crowned by beautiful wrought iron roof. Now it houses hawker stalls and drink stands, every kind of food imaginable.

We chose vegetarian Indian food, washed down by Tiger beer. (We skipped the Organs and Thunder Tea)

Just outside the market is the Satay Club, a network of stalls BBQing Chicken, Lamb and Beef Satay. This used to be located at Clark Quay, but must have moved when the Quay went upscale a few years ago...

Always crowded and always delicious:

I noticed this little man all evening - he is about 4'8", maybe 85 lbs, and at least 85 years old. Very busy advertising and taking orders for satay: (wish I could have gotten a better portrait, but he was too busy to stop for me!)